The Bearhug of Grace

[This message was shared this morning during worship with the people and friends of Living Water Lutheran Church in Centerville, Ohio.]

Luke 15:11-32
The story that Jesus tells in today’s gospel lesson is often called the parable of the prodigal son. 

But one scholar has said it would more aptly be titled the parable of the waiting father. Another refers to it as the parable of the running father. 

What they’re both getting at is important: The central character of the parable is not the son who leaves family and home behind. It’s the one who stands in for God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in the parable: the father. 

Just like the father of the parable, God lays aside His dignity to save the lives of all the prodigals of the world, who, absent His intervention in Christ, would die in our sins. The father in Jesus’ parable is the God we meet in Jesus of whom Scripture tells us: “...though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant…” (Philippians 2:6-7). We see this self-emptying God Who willingly divests Himself not just of dignity, but of life, presented in fictional form by Jesus in this parable. As you consider it remember that He did all of that for you.

We couldn’t do this parable justice if we spent ten Sunday messages on it, or fifty, but let’s take a look at it. Verse 11: “[Jesus says] There was a man who had two sons.  And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them.”

In those days, the property usually only went to the oldest son. Younger sons would work for the eldest until they acquired enough money to buy some land and move out on their own. But in Jesus' parable, is a father prepared to split his property equally among his sons. 

That wasn’t enough for the younger son though. He wanted the inheritance, the price it could fetch him on the market, and the freedom that the cash would give him to do what he wanted right now. These days, children leave home to seek their own lives all the time and they should. But in those days, the customs were different. The younger boy would have been seen as disrespectful. It was as though he was saying he couldn’t wait for his dad to be dead so that he could move on. 

The father knew all of this, yet did what the younger son requested anyway.

A man once came to me, his life a mess. He recounted how he had made one bad decision after another and then, in all seriousness asked me, “How could God have let me do those things?” He blamed God for the rotten decisions that, had God not let him take them, he would have resented God restricting him. Either way, he was likely to blame God. Look: God never forces His way on any of us. He never forces any decision on us. Unless God gives us the leeway to say no to Him and to His love, our confession of faith in Him, when and if it comes, will mean nothing. The Father gives grace so that when we say yes to Him, it really is in faith.

Verse 13: “Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.”

You don’t have to be a Jew, as Jesus’ original hearers were, to understand how far this son has fallen. He’s a slopper of pigs so hungry that he envies the pigs their feed pods. Of course, Jews regard pork as particularly filthy. Things are bad for this young man.

Verse 17: “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’  

The son has no thought that his father could ever again treat him as anything like a son. But he realizes that his dad’s servants live well. He’s going to throw himself on the mercy of his father and hope to be a hired servant. Even now, the son underestimates the love his father has for him. “I could never ask God for his forgiveness,” people sometimes tell me. “I’ve done too much wrong.” Listen: God’s grace is big enough to cover all our sins!

Verse 20: “And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”

Notice: The Father doesn’t stay in the house, watching for the son to lay prostrate before him and recite all of his sins: all the prostitutes he’s been with, all the drunken nights he’s spent wasting his time and his life, all the dissipate days. The Father sees the boy and--once again--laying aside the dignity that fathers were supposed to effect in those days, runs to the son. He has his arms wrapped around the boy before the son could  stammer out a confession! Jesus says, “I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance (Luke 15:7).” Every time we confess our sins and are renewed by God’s grace in our relationship with Him, there’s a party in heaven led by God. (I’m the reason for parties in heaven every day!)

Grace, you know, is God’s charitable forgiveness for repentant sinners. It isn’t earned, any more than the son in Jesus’ parable earned the forgiveness and reception home of his father. Grace, salvation from sin and death, is a gift from a God too busy loving us to worry about His dignity...and because of that deserves more dignity, honor, glory, gratitude, and praise than the whole Church of forgiven sinners could muster for all eternity. Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Grace is hard for us to get, especially if we think that we’ve always led an upright, wholesome, commendable, religious life. Which leads us to the older son.

Verse 25: “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

The oldest son refuses to enter his father’s house, refuses to join in the party for the one who has returned. He’s confident of his goodness and so certain of the younger one being undeserving of his father’s favor that he keeps himself outside. The father has to come outside to him, once more laying aside his dignity, and beg the older son to come inside. Listen: There are so-called Christians who have spent their lives in the Church, but have never entered the kingdom of God because they have refused to believe the gospel message that all of us are sinners who, need to turn to the Father we know in Jesus, humbly acknowledging our sin and our need of grace, and join the heavenly party.

Grace is free. But unless we are willing to lay aside our dignity, our pretense of being “good people,” we will never experience that bearhug of grace, forgiveness, new life that God has in mind for every human being! In Holy Baptism, God has turned to you and made you His own. He has also given us the freedom to turn away: to leave Him and His Church behind, to be contemptuous of Him, to ignore Him, to turn our backs on anyone who doesn’t seem companionable, who doesn’t look like us or think like us. But God never gives up on us. He offers us grace when we simply turn to Him, trusting that what Jesus did on the cross in dying for the sins of the world, covers our sins too, fills our need, bring forgiveness to us. Whenever we humbly turn to God in Christ, there’s a welcome that God wants to keep giving us for all eternity. Don’t be afraid to admit your need of God. Turn to Him each day and let the party begin again. Amen

[I'm the pastor of Living Water Lutheran Church in Centerville, Ohio.]

The Lady in the Park

[This message was shared with the people of Friendship Lutheran Church during worship celebrations on March 17 and 18, 2007.]

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
A Baptist congregation in Sidney, Australia became embroiled in controversy a few weeks ago. All because of a sign placed in its yard. Even the Prime Minister of Australia weighed in, condemning the church, saying, "I understand the Christian motivation of the...church. But I hope they will understand that a lot of Australians, including many Australian Christians, will think that the prayer priority of the church on this occasion could have been elsewhere."

What was that congregation's offensive signboard message? "Jesus loves Osama."

When I asked our Catechism students on Saturday if that were true, if Jesus loves Osama, one of them had a great answer. "Yes," he said. "But I'm sure that He's not really happy with him right now."

The fact is that even hell will be filled with people Jesus loves. The question isn't whether Jesus loves us. Jesus loves all the sinners of the world. That means every one of us. The question is whether we're willing to go home to Jesus or not.

Jesus talks about that in today's Bible lesson, the bulk of which is His story of the Prodigal Son, a tale the writer Charles Dickens called the greatest short story ever told. Jesus, unlike we modern-day preachers, never talked to people with a prepared manuscript or an outline. Jesus often used stories. One of my old mentors, Dr. Richard Jensen, insists that whenever we moderns preach on the story in today's lesson, we should use a story. A few years ago, Jensen, in fact, wrote a story sermon for this passage. Another pastor, Ed Markquart, revised it a bit. I've revised it a little more myself and want to share it with you now. So, here it is: The Lonely Lady of Blairstown.

George Miller and his wife moved to Blairstown in the 1950’s. George was transferred there by his company and although moving was a pain, George was glad to do it. Not only was he making more money, but Blairstown itself was a nice place.

In the center of Blairstown was a park, well-groomed with lots of flowers and trees. George walked through the park every day on his way to and from work. He even walked through it to and from lunch every day. On his daily walks, he noticed everything about the place, including an elderly woman who always seemed to be there.

At first, George didn’t pay much attention to this lonely figure. ”It’s probably just a coincidence that she seems to always be around when I'm here,” he told himself. Yet as the months rolled on, she really was always there. It started to spook George. He asked himself: “Who is she? What’s she doing in this park all the time?”

Though she was ordinary in most ways, there was longing, lonely gaze in her eyes, as if she were looking or waiting for someone. George was troubled by her, and finally asked Harold Clark, a native of Blairstown, “Who is that woman?”

“Oh, you mean the lonely lady of Blairstown Park,” Harold said “Her name is Grace Simon. She’s spent a lot of time in that park recently. She’s a lonely old soul. Her husband, Tom, died a long time ago when their three kids were still little. Now, Shirley, their oldest, runs the furniture store and Steve, the middle one, runs the funeral home, both places on Main Street. When Tom died, he left the two businesses to Grace and, years later, she gave one business to each kid.

“There was a third child. Frank was his name name. Grace learned a few years back that Frank died in an automobile accident out west. Anyway, having only two children instead of three, the businesses could be neatly divided between Shirley and Steve. Grace was a huge help to them. Without Grace, they couldn't had made a go of it. But eventually, they got to the point that they didn’t want her around any more. They became engulfed in a family feud.

“The feud started one day when Grace got a letter from Denver. At first, she wouldn’t tell anybody what was in it. But people could see that it had her worked up. She asked Steve and Shirley for some money. She had to get a train ticket to go to Denver immediately. They thought their Mom had gone off her rocker. She pleaded, ‘Steve and Shirley, I have to have a ticket! I’ve got to go to Denver!’ But she wouldn’t tell anybody why. The kids finally broke down and they got her a train ticket to Denver. Grace headed west.

“It turns out, though none of us knew it when Grace made her visit, that Frank wasn’t dead at all. He was in jail on several counts of armed robbery. He’d been too ashamed to tell his mother of his conviction. So, he had one of his buddies write a letter to his mother saying that he had been killed when his car crashed through a bridge and plunged into the river. He even had him send a clipping from a Colorado newspaper that seemed to verify the story. Anyhow, years later, Frank decided to tell his mother the truth.

"I don’t know why he did it. He should have left things the way they were. It would have been better for Grace and the family to think Frank was dead. Everybody here loved Grace and we all were pretty angry with Frank for telling his mother that he was still alive. Think about it: First he runs away from home, then breaks Grace’s heart with news that he’s dead, and then comes back into her life, a convicted felon! He put his mother through a wringer and it made all of us all upset!

“It was quite a scene in prison when Grace and Frank met. The guards took Grace down a long hallway, into a waiting room with lots of other people. Then a guard took Grace into a small room. He told her to wait. She sat for what felt like an eternity. Then she heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Her heart seemed to pound in time with the approaching steps. The door opened and Grace’s eyes locked with those of Frank.

“Grace moved first; she always does. She walked over to Frank and wrapped her arms around him. She held him and began to cry. She kept on saying, ‘We thought you were dead’ She said it over and over again. At first, Frank stood stiff and lifeless in his mother’s embrace. But then, melted by Grace, he grabbed his mother and held her. He too began to cry.

”Grace visited Frank several times during the two weeks that she was in Denver. After that, she went out there every year for some years. Not long ago, Grace learned that Frank was supposed to be ready for parole any day. When Grace learned that, she told Frank that once he got out of prison, he should come home. ‘I’ve got plenty of room in the house!” she told him. “Frank, you can even be a partner in the family businesses!’

“Well, when Grace got back to Blairstown, she was all excited. She was telling anyone who would listen, ‘Frank’s alive. My boy’s alive! All that business about an accident was wrong. He’s alive!’ She told all of us. Not a word about Frank being a felon. Just, ‘He’s alive!’ over and over again.

“To tell the truth, she was about the only one in Blairstown excited because we’d never had a hometown boy stay in prison for thirty years for armed robbery. People around here weren’t too keen on the whole idea of seeing him. Frank might have been alive, but Frank was a good-for-nothing crook. I mean, what were we supposed to say to Grace, ‘Gee - I’m glad your son’s alive and in prison’? We didn’t say anything. We were just embarrassed.

“Shirley and Steve, Grace’s other kids, weren’t quiet at all, though. When Grace told them that Frank wanted to come home, to disgrace them all, and their momma – and that when she’d said that he could be a part of the family businesses – THAT was the last straw. Shirley and Steve were dumbfounded. A crook in their family businesses? In Blairstown? It just couldn’t happen! Shirley and Steve were right about that. The whole town agreed that Frank would ruin things.

“But Grace didn’t look at it that way. Frank was her son too. She argued that he had a right to be back in the family. That’s what started the family feud. Shirley and Steve had a lawyer draw up papers to rule Frank out of the business altogether. When Grace protested, they told her that it was none of her business. It was only their business and they could do what they wanted. They also told her to never to come into their businesses or to pester them about Frank again.

“I thought that was really unkind. After all, Grace had given them the businesses in the first place. She’d worked hard to help them when they got their starts. Worse than that though, is that they don’t even invite Grace over to their homes anymore. They don’t want to hear her talk about Frank. She doesn’t even get to see her grandchildren unless they sneak over to the park to see her.

“Anyway, George, that’s why Grace Simon wanders alone in Blairstown Park. The Lonely Lady of Blairstown Park, that’s what everybody calls her. She’s out there right now, watching and waiting. Of course, she’s waiting for Frank to come home. And rumor has it that he’s out of prison and coming home any day. So she’s watching that highway coming into town, watching for her boy to come back home. But, if you look at her, you can see that she’s also got her eyes on Main Street an awful lot of the time, Main Street, where her two kids run the family businesses. She’s watching for some sign of love, some softening of the heart, some sign of welcome from Steve and Shirley.”

George interrupted Harold’s story. “You’d think that she wouldn’t want anything to do with those kids,” George said. “What do you suppose Grace would do if those kids, Steve and Shirley, did have some change of heart?” he asked. Harold thought for a moment and said, “I think that Grace would do just like she did with Frank. She’d welcome them with open arms. And if they ever come to their senses, she’s going to run and throw her arms around them and give them a great big love. You know, that’s just the way she is. That’s just the way Grace is.”

And that’s the way God’s grace, given in Christ is, too. No matter how far you wander, our God of grace wants to welcome you home!

Second Pass at This Weekend's Bible Lesson: Luke 15:1-3a, 11b-32

For the verse-by-verse comments on this passage go to these fine sites:
Exegetical Notes by Brian Stoffregen
Comments and Clippings by Chris Haslam
Pilgrim Preaching by Mary Hinkle Shore
Exegetical Considerations by Richard Carlson
First Thoughts by William Loader
Gospel Analysis by Ed Markquart
Lectionary Bible Studies by Bryan Findlayson

First Pass at This Weekend's Bible Lesson: Luke 15:1-3a, 11b-32

[Most weeks, I present as many updates on my reflections and study of the Biblical texts on which our weekend worship celebrations will be built as I can. The purpose is to help the people of the congregation I serve as pastor, Friendship Lutheran Church of Amelia, Ohio, get ready for worship. Hopefully, it's helpful to others as well, since our Bible lesson is usually one from the weekly lectionary, variations of which are used in most of the churches of the world.]

The Bible Lesson: Luke 15:1-3a, 11b-32
1Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3So he told them this parable:..

11...“There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. 13A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’ 20So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate. 25“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ 28Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 29But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ 31Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

General Comments:
1. Our lesson, mostly composed of what's probably Jesus' second most famous parable, that of the Prodigal Son, is taken from a spot in which He tells three parables in a row, this one being the last and the longest. The other two, which appear in verses 3b-10, are the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. A central theme of all three is: Those who wander from God and God's will are lost; but God never tires of looking for us so that our relationship with Him can be restored.

2. I gave my own definition of a parable last week in one of these passes. Since I want to be sure to talk about what a parable is again here, I'll refrain from repeating myself and instead, give the floor to the wonderful New Testament scholar Archibald M. Hunter as he defines parables in his book, The Parables Then and Now:

The word 'parable,' Greek in origin, means a 'comparison.' We may then define a parable as a comparison drawn from nature or from daily life, and designed to teach some spiritual truth, on the assumption that what is valid in one sphere--nature or daily life--is also valid in the spiritual world...

The next point is that parable is a form of teaching--often, if you like, polemical teaching...

I'll have more to say about this business of polemic in the verse-by-verse comments and a little bit in point 4 below, because Jesus clearly told this story in part as a polemic against those whose religion prevented them from embracing faith in Him.

3. Hunter also warns us against viewing the parables of Jesus particularly as cute little stories. He writes:

When I was in my early twenties, I used to think of [the parables] as picturesque stories with morals attached, eminently suitable for teaching children in Sunday School. Forty years later [he wrote his book in 1971], these same parables seem to me more like Churchill's speeches in 1940--weapons of war in a great campaign against the powers of darkness which took Jesus to the cross...

4. The scribes and the Pharisees to whom Jesus first told this parable would have been deeply offended by it. They believed that God's blessings were earned by those who obeyed His laws and lost to those who failed to keep the law perfectly. They also believed that they kept God's law perfectly and looked down their noses on the sinners with whom Jesus associated.

For Jesus' original hearers then, this story of the sinning son who returns to the father and the self-righteous son who has always obeyed, would have called into question the entire basis of their religious system. They couldn't have helped but see themselves in the older son who, with rectitude, refuses to join in the party thrown by the father, the party clearly the Kingdom of God presided over by the Father.

To the original readers of Luke's two volumes, Luke and Acts, the implications would also have been clear. Luke believes that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Jews' law and prophets. And while the first Christians were Jews, most first-century Jews who heard about Christ wouldn't accept Him as Messiah, Savior, and God-in-the-flesh. In addition, Acts is quite honest in describing the disputes and debates that arose over the admission of Gentiles into the fellowship of those who believed in Christ. The parable of the Prodigal Son also speaks against those Jewish-Christians wanting to lord it over those Gentiles on whom they could feel they had spiritual seniority.

It was in anticipation of this openness to Gentile believers to which the Holy Spirit would lead the early Christians that on the first Pentecost, Luke records the apostle Peter reciting a passage from the Old Testament:

...everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21)

5. Theologian Helmut Thielicke was fond of saying that the name we routinely apply to this parable is inappropriate. We should, he said, call it the parable of the Waiting Father.

And that's true. In a very real sense, the star of the parable isn't the son, who simply surrendered to the father's patient charity, what we might call amazing grace. So long as the boy is still living, the father doesn't give up on the young one's return. This is just like the Father in heaven: No matter how far we wander, He eagerly awaits our return.